LTTE in Manalaru – Indian War
LTTE in Manalaru – Indian War
Checkmat-01
Our national leader, who possessed discipline, control, truth, speed, wisdom, love of freedom and honor, had come to Manalaru forest considering the need of the time. After the war started in Yarlpanam, the Manalaru forest welcomed the national leader and his retinue.
Although we did not have the manpower or weapons to fight against more than one lakh Indian troops, we had an unwavering determination. Our national leader realized that with this strength of mind, we could upset the Indian army. The new place, the directionless forest. Manalaru stood tall with the pride of hiding and protecting its sons.
The Indian army came to know that the LTTE leader and his team had gone to Manalaru forest. In a hurry, seven Indian army camps – with airfield facilities – were set up around the Manalaru forest. The Special Command Headquarters were set up in the Nithigaikula area. More than forty thousand troops were concentrated in these camps.
The national leader predicted the beginning of the siege for the attack. He explained confident tactics to all the freedom fighters. “This forest is our final base. There should be no intention of leaving here. Whether it is life or death, the end will be written here,” he explained to the freedom fighters with a firm decision. The national leader’s mantra of heroism made our freedom fighters happy. It gave them the mental strength to face any superpower.
In 1988, the clouds of war loomed over the villages of Manalaru. Indian troops surrounded the villages and the forest in two zones. Another division moved to enter the forest.
Although our freedom fighters were few, they had immense morale. With that strength, they started the fight at the guard post. The very beginning of the fight was fierce. The thirst for freedom was in the hearts of our freedom fighters. Unable to cope with the attack, the Indian soldiers retreated.
The first sacrifice of life for freedom took place in the Manalaru forest. 2nd Lt. Jeevan, who did not retreat from the place where he was stationed – he was blinded by the pride of having driven the enemy away. That evening, Indian Radio reported, “17 soldiers were killed and over thirty injured in the search and extermination operation at Daruppu Borukchi.”
The troops, who had retreated slightly in the fighting on the 23rd, took up positions at that location. The fight resumed on the morning of the 24th. Indian Air Force helicopters were circling overhead. To enter the forest, one had to cross the ‘Sandalwood Fired Paravai’ pass. Kutti, who was stationed on the edge of the forest, had stopped the advance of over a hundred Indian troops with his rifle. Every soldier who tried to get up and run in the exposed area fell victim to Kutti’s rifle bullets.
Our freedom fighters rushed to the scene of the fighting. Kutty’s gun was out of bullets. He had only one last bullet left. He realized how serious the consequences would be if he was caught alive. He decided his fate with that last bullet. He turned the barrel of the gun directly to his head. He made an unthinkable sacrifice with that last bullet. When our freedom fighters who rushed to help arrived, Kutty was lying in a pool of blood. The army also retreated with the loss of many soldiers. With Kutty’s decision, the first attack in the forest, ‘Checkmate – 01’, came to an end.
Checkmate – 02
The Indian army commanders studied and predicted their first operation in the forest and the reasons for its failure. They clearly understood that the LTTE were strong in the forest. Troops were brought to the Manalaru river. Traffic was banned on the roads connecting the forest to the villages and the outlying villages. All the small roads and alleys were blocked. They had also made the wrong calculation that they could starve the LTTE into submission. Despite their restrictions, the villagers of Manalaru thought that they were providing food supplies to the LTTE. As a result, even bullock carts and bicycles were banned for transportation. It was also prohibited for anyone to carry more than 1 kg of rice. In the small shops in Manalaru villages, the supplies were counted every day by the Indian army. These restrictions were strictly enforced for several months.
The second siege began on Marts in 1989. In the interim period preceding this siege, there was a continuous artillery raid on the forest from the army camp on the Kumulamunai Kottu Kinattu Pillayar Kovil hill. As in the great war fronts, more than 260 artillery missiles were fired per hour. Indian Air Force dropped bombs weighing 250 kg without fail. Thousands of troops were deployed in a chain of command outside the forest. Troops were also deployed in the villages surrounding the forest in a similar manner.
On the 2nd of Marts, the troops began to move towards the forest. Our freedom fighters, who were coming to the riverbank to carry food supplies from the forest, were a little late on arriving that day.
At about five thirty in the evening, our freedom fighters, standing on the defensive wall located on the forest bank, were able to observe the movement of troops in a long line on the other side of the riverbank. As darkness slowly fell, the fight began with our team that had gone to carry food supplies. The Indian troops were scattered as they started earlier than expected, and the Indian commanders had difficulty in uniting the scattered troops. They had to spend the whole night throwing flares into the sky to show where they were standing.
They had to escape from their artillery shells that came one after another. As the communication equipment was disconnected, their voices were everywhere throughout the night. They got together before dawn. As some more units came to their aid, a new fight began. After fighting continued throughout the day, they ended their second operation, ‘Checkmate-02’, as their attempt to enter the forest failed. But the artillery shelling and air attacks never stopped. It is noteworthy that the Indian army lost more than forty troops in this operation.
Checkmate – 03
The large number of their troops killed angered the Indian commanders. They quickly planned their next phase of operation. The troops from the Manalaru military bases were replaced and the ‘Gurkas’ soldiers were brought in. They were famous as “Gurkas soldiers did not put the knife without seeing blood”.
On the 22nd of Marts, the Gurkas regiment led by Colonel Baski launched an attack. They entered the forest as fast as they could, lining up. They also tied up their dead soldiers with the same speed. Without having time to bury the dead soldiers, they forgot to pick up the fallen rifles and the knives and ran in the direction they had come from. Landmines exploded in all directions. Every tree they caught exploded and split. Every tree they fell on shattered their hearts. The Gurkhas fled, forgetting where they were going.
Having lost their Colonel Baski and more than forty knives, only ten or twelve soldiers escaped without having time to bury their dead comrades even a foot deep. Our freedom fighters buried Baski’s body and the bodies of the nine soldiers with military honors, and some indelible traces can still be seen at that place.
-Vanangaman
-Manalaru Vijayan
Edited by: Tamilarasan Abdulkadhar
(Translation by Tamilpriya)
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